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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Life continues to amaze me and surprise me and often bring me to my knees in thanksgiving for all the blessings in it. The everyday happenings, the little joys, are so precious to me and when I stop to list them, I am filled with such a gratitude to the One who provides them!

Last week I spent five wonderful days away with my two lovely sisters. Our annual 'sisters weekend' that means so much to us. Our time away to reconnect and enjoy each others company without the busyness of life getting in the way.

And so with joy in my heart for the beautiful memories of time spent with Dianne and Mary, my list continues...

- mornings that greet you with a gentle sunrise and a promise of God's blessings for the day

- sisters that mean the world to me!

- the pretty colors and smooth feel of sea glass

- gathering beautiful heart-shaped stones found along the water's edge

- butterflies resting on flowers long enough to have their picture taken

- taking time out for a bit of sidewalk art and feeling like we were 5 years old again!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Happy Wednesday and welcome to our 200th challenge! It was in October of 2009 that we started up the Little Red Wagon challenge blog and it has been a great ride with our Design Team (the Girlfriends) and everyone who has played along with us each week. We are still having lots of fun digging into our wagons of scrapbooking supplies and making up cards, layouts and projects and we look forward to many more challenges in the years ahead.

If you haven't joined in the fun with us for a while, then this is the perfect week for you to play along. This week it is all about polka dots! Janice wants us to use polka dot paper on our projects.

I adore polka dots! I always have! So I really enjoyed this challenge. I dug into my wagon of goodies and found some polka dot paper and coordinating supplies and made up this little card.

The paper is from Becky Higgins - Project Life Midnight Edition paper collection. The 'love you' card is a Technique Tuesday story card and I thought it worked really well on this card!

I die cut a scalloped circle, added a heart tag, some waxy flax, a Heidi Swapp heart and a couple of gorgeous feathers! Last, but never least, I added my signature button :)

I hope you play along with us this week. Just create a project using polka dot paper and then pop over to Little Red Wagon and link it up! Have a happy week ♥

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

It is my turn to post the challenge this week at Little Red Wagon! I am challenging everyone to use at least 3 layers on their project - kind of like a triple layer cake! I love layers as they allow for lots of dimension and crafty goodness!

I decided to make up a note card that I could use for any number of different occasions.

If you count my layers, I made it to seven! I did four layers of matting and then three layers of paper-piecing on the coffee cup.

I left the card blank so I could add an appropriate sentiment when I am ready to give it to someone. I might add:

I love you a latte

You are the sugar in my coffee

You warm my heart

Perk up!

Warm wishes

Have one on me (and include a gift card)

Oh the fun of a simple little card!

I hope you join us this week at Little Red Wagon. I would love to see what you create:)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Welcome to our August Inspiration Elevator challenge. Each month our group is challenged to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. Be sure to check out our Inspiration Elevator Blog, to see all of our previous challenges.

This month, the very creatively-minded Christa issued the challenge and here's what she wrote:

"Part of growth is learning new techniques. And I do mean NEW. Sometimes we are afraid to try something or get in a rut... but for the August reveal I am asking that you find a technique WITH a video and include the link in your post. Learn something new. Share where you learned it and then share what you learned and your creation. I hope this is challenging for you... it might take some time to think about!"

Wow! This challenge took me a while to embrace! I had to really do some thinking and researching before I found a technique that I wanted to use. But in the end, I had so much fun with what I tried and I am so thankful for this challenge!!

I have always admired the mixed media canvas art that I have seen on different blogs, so that is the direction this challenge took me in. I have especially admired Christy Tomlinson's She Art and it was one of her video's that inspired me to give a canvas creation a try. The link to Christy's video can be found HERE. It is a 22 minute video and I am sure I watched the whole thing at least a couple of times.

One thing I found out was that, step-by-step, making a mixed media canvas was not as hard as I thought it would be. I needed a couple of special products, like Mod Podge and paint, but otherwise it was just a matter of diving in!

Here is my first canvas.

I basically started by applying Mod Podge to my canvas, adding a couple of different pieces of pattern paper to create my background and then adding more Mod Podge. When that dried, I added some paint to the surface to give it more color.

Then I continued applying other bits and pieces using the Mod Podge. Most of the shapes - flowers, bird, fence, quote - were cut out of pattern paper from DCWV.

Then I added some texture paste using a cloud stencil and small dot stencil. When that dried, I was free to add some (very old!) rub-ons I had in my stash, some clear dew drops, my signature button and last, but not least, some doodling!

The doodling really took me out of my comfort level. I was so afraid to make a mistake and ruin everything! But once I got started, it was really fun! I didn't go too crazy with the doodles, but I had fun working outside the lines for a change :) As a finishing touch, I splattered some white paint over my design.

I had so much fun with this canvas, that I made a second one! (I know - pretty crazy!)

I decided to experiment with combining a few more pattern papers on the background - at least 5 different ones. (Yes, I was feeling pretty brave! lol) Then, I cut the pieces for the house and I added lots of doodling to it for all the details.

From there it was more texture paste clouds (love them!), a quote I printed on the computer, some stamping with white paint, rub-ons, paint splatters, and dew drops.

I LOVE these little canvases and I thank Christa and Inspiration Elevator for giving me the push to give them a try! I see lots more of these little works of art in my future!

Now I hope you will stop by and see what the rest of the incredible Inspiration Elevator designers have created for this challenge. I am sure we will all be inspired by their creativity.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Is the sun shining where you are today? I hope so! But if it isn't, you will get lots of sunny inspiration from the designers at Little Red Wagon this week! Our challenge is to create something with a sun on it :)

I feel like I have been neglecting my poor Copics lately, so I colored up this adorable image from Sassy Cheryl. This sweet little girl is named Charlie and the stamp is called Charlie's Green Umbrella.

Isn't she a sweetie? Even though it is raining, her cute expression reminded me that behind every cloud the sun is shining! So it was perfect for this challenge and for my card.

Do stop by Little Red Wagon for more sunny inspiration that will be sure to brighten your day!

Friday, August 9, 2013

When the new line from My Minds Eye, Chalk Studio, arrived at my store, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it to create a layout! This new collection is so fabulous - great chalkboard designs on one side and gorgeous pastels on the other! Plus, lots of fun embellies to go with the papers!

I had a couple of photos in mind when I started creating, but I decided on some pictures of my sisters and myself that we took a couple of years ago on our sisters weekend. The background for my page was easy, I just used the Beautiful Ride paper with the quote and bicycle already printed on it.

Then I added a couple of the pastel papers behind my photos. They give just a subtle bit of color that was perfect for my black and white photos.

From there I just had fun with all sorts of bits and pieces. I added a couple of the stickers from the line and some buttons, dew drops, candy dots, a camera paper clip and decorative tape!

The decorative tape from this line is to die for! It has such a rich level of color and the designs are FABULOUS! I love, love, LOVE them!

This little heart is from the decorative tape (sigh!) and fit perfectly on the corner of my sister, Dianne's, photo.

I based my design on a sketch from Christa at Two Scrapbook Friends. It is from the July Sketch Challenge and it is not too late to play along! Thanks for looking ♥

Life is good and each new day holds many blessings if we but know how to recognize them! My blog is a place where I can share some of the blessings in my life including my love of family, paper crafting, travel, cooking and reading. Thanks for stopping by!